Improved caster for sewing-machines



PATENT OEEICE.

JOHN N. WILKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVED CASTER FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 55,567, dated June 12, 1866.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN N. VVILKINS, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Caster; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, elear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side view of my improvement as applied to the leg` of a sewing-machine. Fig. 2 is a top view ot' the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

The nature and object ot' my invention consists in so attaching casters to the legs of sewing-machines that the machines will not be elevated too high or changed materially from their natural position, and still use a large wheel or roller 5 in attaching them durably to a small surface of iron by means of screws and lugs or projections, and in attaching them so that the machines will not move while in use.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The plate A is made oi' cast-iron or other suitable metal, about two and onehalf inches in length and one and one-fourth in width. The end where the wheel or roller is inserted is turned upward, so that a wheel or roller of one and one-fourth inch in diameter can be inserted, and the periphery ofthe wheel come from one-fourth to one'quarter of one inch below the plate A, so that a large wheel or roller, such as is necessary in passing a heavy weight over a carpeted iloor, can be used without raising the machine or deranging its proportions. The wheel or roller is made and inserted in the usual manner.

The plate A is provided with legs D at the sides, which project upward and are Iitted one on each side of the leg ofthe machine, or a hole maybe drilled into the bottom of the leg, and a single lug or a pin may be used, as shown at E. The object of these lugs is to prevent the caster from turning, and at the same time form an easy and simple attachment to an iron foot.

Two methods of attachment are shown in the iigures. The one which fits the form of the foot most generally used is to attach the plate A of the caster to the foot by means of the lugs D or projection or pin E, and thc screw B, bringing the caster-wheel on the inside. The screw B is put through the projection or foot of the leg and screwed into the plate A, and being at the outer side, it has the advantage of the leverage to insure its complete action, and the plate is prevented from turning sidewise by the lugs D, when placed at the side, or the projection or pin E, when placed centrally. The other form is by the pointed lugs F, which are cast onto the curved portion of the plate A, and fitted to corresponding notches iiled or otherwise made in the leg to receive them, and the screw C, which passes th rough a portion of metal raised at the outer end of the plate A, and is screwed into a thread cut to receive it or into a cavity, so as to draw the lugs F into the spaces made for them.

When the form of the foot is an enlargement around the leg or at the sides, the legs are made to fit the enlargement on one side, andan elevation similar to C placed on the opposite side.

A universal caster might be as easily attached as this by simply drilling a hole inthe bottom of the foot, but this I have found will not answer, as the machine when mounted on universal casters will move when in operation, which is not desirable. By this caster it can be moved over a carpeted tloor to any part of the room without injuring the carpet, and will not move when in use, as the pressure, when the machine is in operation, isl against the side, and it does not increase the height, as the universal or other known casters would do when attached to the feet of the machine. The lugs prevent the caster from turning on the screws, and by their use I am able to attach the casters permanently to an iron foot with one screw.

-I do not claim as my invention casters so attached or so constructed as to have but one movement, as these are well known and used on trunks and for various other purposes; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

'lhe combination of the leg with the forked plate A and the wheel by means of the screw and lug, substantially as specified.

J. N. WILKINS.

Witnesses:

J. A. HoIsINGrToN, G. L. JENKs. 

